I am Finally a Roadie

After months of reflection, I have finally decided to build my road bike. The N+1 is strong and I cannot resist it.

I have succumbed to the peer pressure brought forth by my cycling friends. I thought that my Marin Headlands gravel bike will be enough, but I guess the N+1 theory is true - I need another bike.

If you ask me why I needed a road bike - I still don’t know. I can fool myself into thinking that this bike will allow me to catch up to my friends and not get dropped, but I know that’s not true. In the end I just liked to try a road bike.

I started out learning from a BMX bike originally attached to a sidecar (photo below), then we bought an MTB which I used for quick errands (kerosine refill from the nearest gas station and pandesal run) which we eventually gave up because it’s just sitting there in our garage.

That’s me with our bike where I would eventually learn to ride

Fast forward to the pandemic days where there are less cars on roads - when my interest in cycling was restarted. Bought my gravel bike and loved it. I even joined a few gravel races to tell myself that “this is where my gravel bike belongs”.

From Gravelton Clark 2023 - my last gravel race

Then I got invited in group rides with those who became my friends. They like climbs, and I figured my gravel bike has a lot of gear to accommodate for that. But that’s when they started pushing me into buying my road bike.

My wife convinced me too, because she also has a road bike, and feels like I would appreciate that kind of riding. And so I eventually caved in (and may I say, gladly).

I told myself that if I want a road bike, I should build one myself. I don’t want to fall into that rabbit hole of upgrades again, where replaced parts would just sit here unused. So built bikes are no longer an option. I picked each part and while it’s expensive, I still went for it because of my “no-more-upgrade” mantra.

Bike build in progress.

The bike was built last December. I tried it out with friends. I am still getting dropped sometimes, but I can’t blame my road bike for that.

Comparison is a thief of joy, they say. I admit that there will always be better bikes out there - but I have reached a point where I need to work on my fitness first if I want to be worthy of my new road bike. It can go fast - but all will be dependent on the rider.